>> breaking news tonight. a fire rips through a town house and takes a woman's life. it happened along laurel hill road in green belt. take a look at the video from the scene. the flames shooting from the back of the home, the smoke billowing. the fire broke out around 9:00. firefighters pulled three people out.

one did not make it. crews are still there. investigators trying to figure out how this all started. as we get more information, we'll bring it to you. joining right now is mark brady from fire and ems. mark, are you there? we hoped to talk to you. we may get back to you later on in our broadcast. the other big story, of course, is the weather. we could wake up to quite a mess tomorrow. good thing it's saturday. we're talking snow, sleet, rain. meteorologist erica grow is here with the latest on what we can expect. >> not only is it good news it's on a weekend, but also that the snow will start falling in the early morning hours when a lot of people aren't even awake, let alone on the road. let's take a look outside with the satellite and radar. you can see the snow and rain approaching. pink indicating areas of sleet and freezing rain. the blue is all snow and the

greens and yellows are for varying intensities of rain. as this approaches, the rain is starting to change over to wintery weather. that's why the winter weather advisory is in effect for all the counties in blue from 3:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. saturday, and even a few counties south and east, including the district of columbia will see a little bit of wintery weather out of this system as it moves through. and here's the story with this winter storm. the snow and wintery mix arrive early in the morning. we're talking 4:00, 5:00 a.m. accumulations are possible, not only in the district, but all points north and west will see an accumulation out of this. a wintery mix with rain south and east of d.c. there isn't a whole lot of moisture with this system, so any accumulations will be very light. we are looking at the possibility of a coating to maybe even an inch of snow in the district. and other neighborhoods will get more than that. i'll tell you more about how much we're expecting in each individual neighborhood, each individual county coming up in your full forecast. derek, back to you.

>> sounds like a good morning to stay in and watch your cartoons. talk about waiting until the last minute. we are now just three days away from the huge tax hikes and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff. today, the president met with congressional leaders at the white house, but the action is now in the u.s. senate, where the republican and democratic leaders are trying to find some sort of compromise. but if they can't, the president is insisting on an up and down vote on his plan in both the house and senate. the vote in the news room tonight was to have gary nurenberg fill us in. gary? >> reporter: derek, how absurd is this? almost no one wants the country to see that combination of huge spending cuts and tax increases, but month after month after month, congress has been unable to cut a deal to avoid them. how absurd is this? so absurd the president is quoting yogi berra to describe it. >> this is deja vu all over again. america wonders why it is that in this town for some reason, you can't get stuff done in an

organized timetable, why everything has to wait until the last minute. we're now at the last minute. >> reporter: the president spoke after a meeting where republican and democratic senate leaders agreed to try to find a solution. >> we're out of town. we've got to do it now. the next 24 hours will be very important. >> reporter: a rare phrase these days, bipartisan effort. >> in the hopes that we can come forward as early as sunday and have a recommendation. >> reporter: but if they don't. >> then i will urge senator reed to bring to the floor a basic package for an up and down vote. >> reporter: a backup plan likely to include tax increase only for the wealthy and extension of unemployment benefits for 2 million jobless americans. >> if members of the house or the senate want to vote no, they can, but we should let everybody vote. that's the way this is supposed to work. >> reporter: either way, a smat agreement or the -- senate agreement or the obama backup plan. >> whatever we come up is going

to be imperfect. some people aren't going to like it. some will like it less. >> reporter: imperfect. one likelihood is a plan that does nothing to address the 110 billion in economy shaking spending cuts scheduled to hit tuesday. nothing to address the country's $16.4 trillion debt limit that the treasury secretary says will hit monday, essentially meaning the government can't spend anything. >> nobody is going to get 100% of what they want, but let's make sure that middle class families and the american economy and in fact the world economy aren't adversely impacted because people can't do their jobs. >> reporter: the debt ceiling, we may hit it monday, but treasury can monkey around with accounting tricks to extend it for a few weeks. count on a big fight when that happens. but last minute, the senate may not vote on any agreement if there is one until monday, hours before the deadline. and if the senate does vote yes, on a plarntion it goes with -- on a plan, it goes with the clock ticking to the house,

largely controlled by republicans who vowed never to raise taxes on anybody. monday should be interesting. >> indeed. the president got a little upset during tonight's fiscal cliff news conference and it had nothing to do with the issues. >> guys, i can hear you over there. >> yeah. that was the president scolding network cameramen. apparently they were being a little too plowed. you could actually hear them offset. there were words with the concern men after the president spoke which had to be pretty embarrassing. we have the fire and else live to talk about the fire that took one woman's life. mark, what do we know about the victims and why was the one woman not able to get out in time. >> good evening, derek. we did have a tragic fire here in the city of green belt in the number two court of laurel hill road. when firefighters arrived, there was a heavy fire in the first floor already extending up to the second. it eventually burned through

the roof. fire investigators are interviewing people. what we're hearing is the possibility that she may have left the house, got out safely before returning back into the house. and obviously, that's something we never want anybody to do, is once you're out to stay out. >> we noticed that the investigation is ongoing. can you tell us anything else about the cause of the fire? >> not at this point. our fire investigators as well as the green belt city police department are on the scene, which is standard operating procedure whenever there is a fire with a fatality. at this point there's no red flags. we don't believe we have anything suspicious at hand. we are dealing with two injured people in the house at the time of the fire. a male and a female in their 50s or 60s that sustained some injuries, some burns, smoke injuries and a broken arm. all have been transported to area hospitals. >> we know this is an attached dwelling, a townhouse. any damage to the homes around it? >> these row houses especially are built extremely well, so we have some minor smoke and heat damage to the row houses on

either side. however, the majority of the damage is confined to the row house of origin. >> as you said, mark brady from prince george's county, a tragic fire tonight. the other two people will apparently recover. that is some good news. thank you for your time. the gun debate continues as one of the largest gun shows in the country opens in our area, and is met by protests. debra alfarone with both sides tonight. >> ban assault weapons now. >> ban assault weapons, congress. >> stop killing our children, nra. >> reporter: they're loud, they interrupt, they're code pink and you've seen them before. >> the nra has blood on its hands. >> reporter: today they're at the nation's gun show at the dulles expo and they're outnumbered by gun enthusiasts, but out shouted by none. >> they have armed guns. why don't you go protest them? >> what does that have to do with an assault weapon? >> have you ever heard of the

second amendment? >> the second amendment in the supreme court made it abundantly clear that there's nothing against banning assault weapons. you know what? you're an idiot. >> both sides may never agree. tonight we search for answers inside the more packed than usual gun show. issue one, the so-called gun show loophole. >> they can make a transaction right there with no background check. that's what part of this gun show loophole. >> reporter: annette elliott runs the show. she takes issue with calling it that. >> it's a private citizen that owns a firearm that can sell it without going through a background check. not just at a gun show but in a trade magazine, to his brother, to his family. >> reporter: to be clear, she says more than half the sellers here have an fll or federal firearms license. they do background checks. but lonnie doesn't. he's selling his assault rifles and says he himself checks. he asks for two forms of

virginia i.d. >> the gun shows, even with the loophole, were to private sell from person to person is actually very safe. because i've got so much law enforcement here, nobody's dumb enough to try to break the law on a person to person sale. >> issue, two. >> ban assault weapons now. >> reporter: she says a ban won't work. >> criminal and crazy people do not follow the law. >> reporter: the one thing both sides agree on is their right to bear and sell arms for one and for the other the right to gather and to be heard. >> all you have to do is go to the dulles expo center. >> reporter: debra alfarone, 9 news. still ahead, why do redskins fans hate those darn cowboys so very much? the top five reasons in tonight's let's be real. and up next, we go along with the cops as they cruise area roads cracking down on those drunk drivers. their goal, keep you safe in the holiday season. and if you got yourself a new tablet over these holidays,

you'll want to download our brand-new 9 news app. it's your link to the latest news and weather. it works on several kinds of tablets including the ipad and kindle fire. log on to itunes, download it for free.

>> 9 wants you to know police will be out in force keeping

you safe over the holiday weekend. with new year's days away, they're cracking down on drunken driving and urging people to keep the partying off the roads. park police officers invited us along for the ride. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: we first met park police sergeant adam during the day. >> it's like i say to everybody. it's the front row seat to the greatest show on earth. >> reporter: but he says his best work is at night. so he invited us out friday night to v.w. park way. >> we're stopping people that have alcohol levels that are on average a 16 which is double the legal limit. >> reporter: the shift starts off slow for this trained drug recognition expert awarded for his record dui arrests. >> these tags are not legit. they're fake tags. >> reporter: but officers never know what to expect when they pull over the next car. >> when you start reaching over the backseat, i don't know what

you're reaching for. make sure i see your hands at all times. >> reporter: as the night progresses. >> you're killing me. you have an ankle bracelet and things like that. >> reporter: police inevitably find the dunk drivers they -- drunk drivers they know are out there. to these seasoned experts, the signs are obvious. >> pull it over. >> reporter: police say in a typical weekend night, one out of seven drivers leaving a local bar is a dui. the average violator drivers out of the influence 80 times a year. that's once every four to five nights. >> how much have you had to drink tonight? >> i had one drink. >> you had just one drink? hold your head still. >> reporter: but he can tell after the eye exam, the driver is above the legal limit. >> he has slurred speech, red watery bloodshot eyes. he has nystagmus which is present, all six clues. you're not in charge. i am. >> reporter: here's a little known fact.

you can refuse a breathalyzer except when you're driving on a federal road and stopped by a federal officer. v.w. parkway and park police meet both standards. >> we'll give you a breath test and see if you're okay to drive. >> i refuse it. >> turn around and put your hands behind your back. you'll be placed under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. >> reporter: with each arrest, the sergeant hopes to keep people alive, because out of 40,000 deaths on the road annually, nearly 12,000 of them are caused by drunk driving. 9 news. >> and keep this in mind. d.c. area cops will have increased patrols over the weekend and into the new year. so if you've had too much to drink and you need a safe ride for home call sober ride at 1- 800-200 taxi. if the fare is under $30, it's free. ♪ hail to the redskins >> this is dallas week. the fact that such a term exists tells you most of what you need to know about what may be the most heated rivalry in

pro football. but why do redskins fans hold on to such a special brand of dislike for those dallas cowboys? what drives that contempt? i've got some ideas. first of all, just them being the dallas cowboys is pretty much all the takes for me, but there are five reasons we love to hate america's team. reason number five is, they're conceited enough to call themselves america's team. actually, it was a narrator for nfl films who originally coined the term, but hey, why let the truth get in the way of our hating the cowboys just that much more. reason number four, cowboy fans. smug, cooky, you know we've -- cocky, you know we've won five superbowl wins. let's be real. you've had one playoff win over the last 15 years. the skins had two. look it up. reason number three, i'll admit this may be a jealousy thing. cowboy quarterbacks. while the redskins were changing qb's like underwear

dallas has been treated to a whole string of great and near great passes, stall back, aikman, danny white and tony romo. it ain't fair. they must have made a deal with the devil or something. reason number two, last game of the known last year, cowboys overcome a two touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter to win 35-34 and keep the redskins out of the playoffs. oh, that one stung. now it's pay back time. which brings us to the number one reason we love to hate the dallas cowboys. it's because no matter what's on the line, no matter what the one loss record, when you beat those arrogant sons of guns who think they're better than everybody, it is just plain sweet. not sure who will make it to the superbowl, but we do know beyonce is going to be there. she is the halftime entertainment to hit the stage with a lucky 100 fans. pepsi is holding a contest and want people to submit photos of

themselves in various dance poses. 50 will be selected. they get to bring a friend. you can watch superbowl xlvii right here on wusa 9 and if the redskins are fortunate, they might even be there. who knows? >> that would be fantastic. i might tune in just to see beyonce. i love her. >> i would be tuned in for a lot more than that. >> all right. i would love to sce the redskins in the -- to see the redskins in the superbowl as well, of course. i've been looking forward to the snow. we've been talking about it forever. but the snow is finally starting to make its way toward the d.c. metro area. taking a look outside right now with our camera at reagan national airport, this is the michael & son live weather cam, and it is 38 degrees outside with a dew point of 27. so the dew point is still below freezing, as our storm system approaches. right now in our weatherren headlines, we do have -- weather headlines we have the snow and wintery mix making its way toward us. most will fall during the morning hours saturday. after it's said and done, we'll

have snow north and west of the beltway. a mix to rain south and east of the beltway. the precipitation ends in the afternoon. by dinnertime you'll be in the clear again. right now we're below frozing in hagerstown and frederick at 30 degrees. 31 martinsburg. right at freezing in leesburg and everything moving up north from southwest to suite southeast. overnight tonight around 4:00 to 5:00 a.m. is when people will have mixed showers and snow showers approaching. 26 in some of the suburbs. 32 downtown. no chance this is going to be melting before the sun rises. and since the precip starts before the sun rises, i think we will see a light accumulation. a mix of snow for most of us. temperatures in the 30s with winds out of the east at 5-10. we'll see the accumulation map in just a second. the showers clear out of here

in the afternoon and it will turn partly cloudy. temperatures remaining pretty cool though. 35 to 40 with winds out of the north at 10 to 15 miles per hour. so the wintery mix all in pink here, it's from the beltway south and east to about charles county. and we will see mostly a snow event from the beltway north and west, and even in the district we might see an almost all snow event. but then it's just rain as you move further south than that. what will it accumulate to? a trace to an inch for the entire beltway. one to two inches for northern montgomery county, loudoun county and two to four inches for places like hagerstown and up toward winchester, both frederick counties getting two to four inches out of this system. a red alert day because of the mix of snow and wintery weather. mostly sunny on sunday with a high of 40 degrees and then monday, partly cloudy, 44 will be back in the green zone on both of those days. it looks like a pretty nice monday before new year's day a

few more rain and snow showers. stay with us. sports is up next.

>> we are two days away from the nfc east game for the division title. the redskins will host the cowboys, their biggest rivals and do it in primetime. everybody knows fedex field is one of the loudest places in

the nfl. fans know they will continue that vocal support or continue their hatred of dallas. for the 104th time in the regular season history, the cowboys and redskins will meet. sunday night with a spot in the playoffs on the line. >> well, we won six in a row. is that right? seven looks nice. and then they can win four more and it will be a good year. right? >> they're going to kill them. especially, my son's from dallas. we're going to kill them. we're going to win. we're going to go all the way. we're going to the playoffs. we're going to win everything. >> reporter: fans will back fedex with the idea of shouting down their dallas opponents. players know they can count on the 12th man. >> i'm excited for the fans. i don't think anything needs to be said to the fans. people will show up and go crazy at fedex and go crazy at home. i'm proud of what we've done and that we're giving everyone a team they can cheer for. >> we need the same energy they bring every week. we know our fans are some of the best in the league, the

most football-savvy fans in the league. we know they're going to bring everything that they have, and that just helps us out with bringing everything that we have. >> reporter: it's dallas week, sunday night it's for all the marbles. what's going through your mind? >> redskins will win. >> yeah, and they will be champions of the nfc east. >> 100% sure about that? >> 100%. >> what do you think about dallas fans coming into fedex sunday night. >> no. they're dirty penetrators, unfortunately. >> especially if they're from virginia and a redskin fan, they're bad. >> reporter: all that stands in the way of a washington post- season is dallas. >> we're not just doing it for parcels, we're door it for them and the fans. i know the fans will make sure the stadium is electric and really exciting and we'll definitely have a home field advantage. >> to the hard core heading into tonight's game, the wizards lost eight straight. the magic not much better. fourth quarter, wiz up 10. working the two-man game. webster with a dunk. wizards win. i did not misspeak, they won.

105-97 to get their fourth of the season. time though announce the number three d.c. sports moment of 2012. this one's going to hurt. we go back to the game five. that's the game where the nats were 6-0 lead and a trip to the nlcs. by the time in the 8th, it was just a 6-50 lead. still needing five outs to end the game. instead it was tied. this go ahead two run single for the stunning 9-7 loss. and their post-season dreams came to an abrupt end. >> yeah, man. we were there that night. and that was just awful. bummer. >> well, the next two moments will be a little bit more inspiring we hope. >> i hope so. >> we'll be back in a minute.

♪hail to the redskins >> but do you know all the words to hail to the redskins? that's the 9 news now. thanks for staying up with us. don't forget we're always on at wusa9.com. have a great night and a great weekend. go redskins.